Divine Tang Era

Chapter 119 A Tumultuous Time

The atmosphere in Jingning City reached its peak with the arrival of a group of black-faced armored cavalry, filling the entire city with a chilling and murderous aura.

Xu Dan stood in the inn watching them come in from the east gate. The leading knight wore a black armor mask, held a long spear, and was dressed in heavy black iron armor. The horse he rode was covered in scales, with strong limbs, hooves like dragon claws, sharp teeth, and a flying mane. Its breath was like blazing flames.

He had never seen such a tall and strange horse before.

During a casual conversation, He Rong mentioned that this horse was a dragon's offspring, named Crimson Blood Dragon Scale, which lived near volcanoes in the North Sea and was extremely difficult to tame and capture. However, if successfully tamed, it was incredibly loyal and a lifelong friend and confidant.

Can a horse become a good friend or confidant?

Xu Dan had never heard of this before; it was quite unusual.

It was also from the arrival of the black-faced armored riders that Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian scholars and literati began chanting scriptures and hymns on the streets during the day to purify the yin energy in the city and drive away the ghosts that had sneaked in.

The master of the Mo family martial arts school was worried about the safety of the students in the city, so he specially sent his disciples to pick up Xu Dan and Yun Niang and take them to the martial arts school for refuge.

Xu Dan didn't go, but he sent Yun Niang and Xiao Que'er over. The inn was too close to the city gate, and the noise of ghosts fighting and howling in the wilderness at night was too loud, often waking Yun Niang from her dreams.

I heard that the yin energy reaches its peak on the fifteenth of the seventh lunar month, and the scene will be even more spectacular.

The martial arts school arrived just in time. He had Yunniang prepare and then sent the mother and daughter there. Black Bear and the newly bought baby eagle also went with them.

The black bear didn't want to leave, but the little magpie dragged him away. They had originally intended to take the rooster, but the rooster could fly and vanished in an instant; there was no way to find it. As for him, he stayed behind, intending to witness what a grand spectacle was like.

On the top floor of Mingfeng Tower, Lizhu stood at the window, gazing down at the desolate wilderness. After a moment, she sighed softly, "It seems this year's dampness will be unbearable!"

"It's the same every year," said Lin Qing, the master of Yinlong Pavilion, on the other side, unconcerned.

Zhu Yuxian and the deputy head of Yinlong Pavilion stood silently to the side, without saying a word.

Whether it's Mingfeng Tower or Yinlong Pavilion, besides the one in charge on the surface, there's also a secret officer in charge. One reason is to supervise the one in charge on the surface, and the other is that in business, you inevitably encounter reckless and arrogant opponents who don't know their own limits, and these need to be dealt with by the secret officer.

The name "Mingfeng Yinlong" (鸣凤吟龙) is naturally not something an ordinary person could choose.

Therefore, their backers were no ordinary people, but rather the royal family.

Yinlong was the eyes and ears of the Supreme Emperor of the Divine Tang Dynasty, while Mingfeng was under the direct command of the Empress.

Both opened shops throughout the Divine Tang Dynasty, firstly to acquire wealth for public use, and secondly to gather intelligence so that they wouldn't lose sight of the world's changes while residing deep within the palace.

"It's different." Li Zhu shook her head. She had a premonition that things wouldn't go well this year.

"If the city falls, immediately activate the formation to protect the safety of the people inside," Li Zhu suggested after a moment's thought.

"Is it that serious?" asked the Pavilion Master of Yinlong Pavilion.

"I hope my premonition is wrong, otherwise we won't be able to stay here any longer," Li Zhu said with a wry smile.

After years of painstaking effort, she had finally achieved some success. She would be incredibly unwilling to return empty-handed. But life rarely goes as planned, and fate is unpredictable. What could she do?

Li Zhu was unwilling, but how could the Lord of Yinlong Pavilion be willing?

Hearing her words, he thought to himself, "It seems I need to go back and make some preparations."

Li Zhu nodded slightly, gazing at the rolling fog outside the city, and sighed, "What turbulent times!"

As July 15th approached, the fog over the wilderness grew thicker and thicker. What used to be clearly visible during the day was now shrouded in a thick fog. The heavy fog gradually rolled in from the wilderness, enveloping Jingning from all sides.

Today, Jingning is like an isolated island, yet it remains steadfast amidst the rising and falling waves and shrouded in mist.

During the day, Xu Dan also went up to the city to check. The fog was really too thick, thicker than any fog he had ever seen. It was no exaggeration to say that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

As if sensing something amiss, on the fourteenth day, many people dressed in armor and carrying weapons arrived at the city gate. Behind them, groups of Buddhist and Taoist practitioners and Confucian scholars followed closely behind.

On the city wall, the soldiers guarding the city stared intently at the dark mist, with weapons for defending against the enemy laid out behind them.

Xu Dan was sitting at the door watching the commotion when Xue An walked over with two teenagers. He quickly got up to greet them and respectfully invited them inside for tea.

"I'm not going in."

As Xue An spoke, he introduced them to him: "These are my Xue family members, Xue Diao and Xue Bao'er. You can call them senior brothers."

Although Xue An did not formally accept Xu Dan as his disciple, he had already considered him his successor. It wasn't that he didn't want to accept him, but Xu Dan had shown the Xue family too much kindness; if he were accepted as a disciple, all that kindness would be wiped clean. If people found out, they would think the Xue family was ungrateful and heartless, and who would dare to associate with them in the future?

Otherwise, who would be willing to let go of such an archery genius?

Xu Dan sized up the two boys. The one named Xue Diao had bright, intelligent eyes and really did look like a ferret. As for Bao'er, he had a chubby face and looked like a well-behaved baby. No wonder he was called Bao'er; his name truly suited him.

"Senior Brother Xue Diao, Senior Brother Xue Bao'er," Xu Dan greeted, cupping his hands in greeting.

"Greetings, junior brother. It's our first meeting. I didn't bring any nice gifts, but I happened to find a thumb ring at the market the day before yesterday, so I'll give it to you." Xue Diao took out a thumb ring that he had prepared beforehand from his pocket and handed it over.

Xu Dan held it in his hand and discovered that it was an animal bone, as if it were made of jade, and had already been jadeified.

It was a fine thumb ring, and I quickly thanked it.

"I have one too." Xue Bao'er also took out a gift, a small tube about the length of a finger with several holes. "This is a flute from a grassland tribe. Try blowing it; the sound is very fun."

Xu Dan blew on it as instructed, and it made a series of strange, irregular "whooshing" sounds. It was unlike any other sound, quite peculiar, but not unpleasant to hear.

"Thank you, senior brother."

"As long as you like it."

After they got to know each other, Xue An said, "The fifteenth is approaching, and the Yin tide is coming. Ghosts are rampaging through Jingning, causing great harm. There should be a battle today, so I brought them here to see what it's like. Would you like to come along?"

Xu Dan readily agreed, and immediately closed the door to join Xue An and the others.

Xue An had lived in Jingning for many years and knew many people; people would come up to greet him along the way.

Sometimes, he would introduce Xu Dan and Xue Diao (Xue Bao'er) to acquaintances, which led to Xu Dan getting to know quite a few people as well.

"Ancestor".

As Xu Dan reached the foot of the city wall and was about to climb it, he suddenly heard someone call from behind. He turned around and saw Lu Shizong and the martial arts school members approaching together. The group was dressed in black armor, carrying long swords, and exuded heroic spirit and unparalleled charisma.

Xu Dan told Xue An and ran over. Xue An didn't leave either, but stopped to wait for him.

"Is this the style of the great swordsmen of the Mohist school in the pre-Qin period?" Xue Bao'er looked at the attire of the Mohist martial arts school staff and was filled with longing.

"The Mohists are not famous for their swordsmanship," Xue Diao said.

Xue Bao'er nodded without refuting.

Perhaps it can be said that the Mohist school possessed not only swordsmanship, but also mechanisms, a vast network of disciples throughout the land, and a vast collection of ancient texts, along with the core tenets of universal love and non-aggression. These are the true essence of the Mohist school.

"Senior brothers, what brings you here?" Xu Dan asked.

"Protecting Jingning is everyone's responsibility, and our Mo Clan Martial Arts School will naturally do our duty without hesitation," said Lu Shizong.

In fact, if they don't participate in defending the city, the martial arts school will no longer be able to recruit students within the city.

This is a regulation of the county government; although it's not officially announced, it's a rule known to everyone in the slate. After all, you can't even protect Jingning, so why should you be allowed to teach martial arts here? There's no reason.

It is because of this regulation that whenever Jingning is attacked by the enemy, a large number of people come out to protect it.